In addition to coursework in sociological theory and methods, doctoral students are expected to concentrate in and pass written comprehensive examinations in two of the following specialty areas. Specialty areas are distinct, but are also highly integrative. One line of integration involves the department’s continuing emphasis on Rural Sociology, which links elements of all four specialty areas. The program is sufficiently flexible to permit students with a strong interest in an area other than the established specialty areas to elect that area as an emphasis area, rather than having a second specialization, with approval of the supervisory committee and the department head or his or her delegated representative. In this case, the student would select a series of courses in that area in consultation with his or her supervisory committee and the department head or his or her delegated representative.
Demography
The demography area of specialization is administered through the Population Research Laboratory. The orientation is twofold: (1) basic and policy-oriented research on sociological aspects of demographic structure and processes, including migration, marriage and fertility, morbidity, and mortality; and technical demographic topics such as population estimates and projections; and (2) the provision of demographic training to domestic and international students relevant to their respective settings. Research endeavors encompass a broad range of local, regional, national, and international projects in the areas of migration and population redistribution, family demography, life course and aging, health and disability, labor force, and population estimates and projections. Graduate coursework is provided in social demography, population theories and policy, and demographic methods, as well as through various special topic seminars.
Environmental Sociology/Sociology of Natural Resources
The faculty in this area maintain an active research involvement in a wide variety of areas, such as natural resource development, land use changes, public participation in environmental planning, hazardous facility siting, recreation, risk assessment, population/environment relationships, public land management issues, and natural resource policy. Faculty have been engaged in cooperative research ventures with engineering, natural resource sciences, and other physical and social sciences faculty. Graduate curricula offerings are focused on the sociology of natural resources, environmental sociology, environmental problems and inequality, and social risk analysis.
Social Problems and Inequality
This specialization is organized around analyses of the social and cultural processes through which social problems come to be recognized, with particular emphasis on race, class, and gender inequality.
Graduate courses in this area include theoretical foundations, as well as topical courses in the areas of criminology, health, gender, environmental justice, and work and occupations. Faculty members in this area have recently conducted extensive research on health risks and behavior, family and work conflict, peer court intervention in juvenile delinquency, and the gendered impacts of labor market restructuring.
Since the sociology program has a joint relationship with social work and anthropology, sociology graduate students have many opportunities to draw from the experience and applied research of these faculty as well.
Social Change and Development
This specialization is designed to provide a broad foundation for students interested in examining the social, political, and economic dynamics and impacts of social change. Two major goals of this program are to: (1) give students the conceptual and analytical foundations enabling them to understand the dynamics and impacts of social change and development, and (2) convey specific skills required for effective performance in applied fields.
While some faculty and students have projects in urbanizing contexts, there is a strong focus on rural sociology. Faculty members have extensive domestic and international experience examining rural community development, demographic changes, labor market restructuring, agrarian transformations, political transitions and social movements, and land use changes.
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